Our Urban Town a Publication of the Staten Island Urban CenterOur Urban Town is a quarterly publication that shares thought provoking, intellectually provocative, community news, ideas and opinions from Staten Island's urban neighborhoods.

#reSIStah issue​in celebration of women's history month

​the Woke reSIStah Issue Our Urban Town publishes thought provoking ideas, intellectually provocative reflections, community news, and opinions from the very people in the community who passionately live and/or work with these issues. In this Woke ReSistah Issue, Our Urban Town shares the writings of women activists on Staten Island as a tribute to the contributions of women right now in this borough. Due to space constraints, these are just a small sample of women activists doing the work on the island, but our hope is that these writings inspire readers to be or continue to be activists, to share real stories, advocate for real solutions and to fight for real for the things they believe in. In the era of WOKE and RESIST, it’s our time to be activists everywhere we go and in everything we do.Kelly Vilar,​Editor of Our Urban Town & ​CEO of Staten Island Urban Center

​By Lou Bruschi, Founding Principal of P.S. 78 Community School(pictured above Principal Lou Bruschi on right with students, teachers, and donors from Salvation Army distributing free backpacks to students)

Education is born out of the need to move knowledge from one generation to the next. It is the way we ensure the continued success of a community, even a society. When we speak about success, it might not be what most people think. I believe this changes the nature of how we think of a successful institution charged with carrying out the education of young people. If we want a successful community then literacy and numeracy are factors that speak to school success, but test scores skew the capacities of students and turn them into community assets. Great test scores may mean a successful academic career but they pull our students away from our communities. Athleticism and physical development are certainly highlighted at colleges and universities around the country, but that is not the marker of success in a broader societal sense. The college athletes may do well at keeping balance, but is the goal winning a football championship or expanding social justice? There are programs that work to refine the social and emotional well-being of students but that is not enough for a successful life. As much as we think we learned everything we need to know in kindergarten, we did not learn how to address all the complexities that surround us. When we talk about success we need to acknowledge that a thriving child is a product of a thriving community. We must not only ensure the success of the child but do that by supporting the community.This is the reason for the Community School. A place where academic, social, emotional, physical, moral and civic development are the factors that ensure a thriving, successful student and therefore community. Here on Staten Island we have a number of schools, from pre-kindergarten to college, that speak to a level of civic engagement that nurtures not only the whole child, but the whole community. Here instead of working in silos, a number of organizations align their resources to ensure the sharing of resources to the greater community. This collective impact moves to streamline the bureaucracies and open the lines of communications across sectors so physical well-being and mental health are supported equally, while the physical and intellectual capacities of students are nurtured. There is a moral and civic orientation and dare I say spiritual aspect that keeps our students, families and communities connected in the most elemental and necessary ways. Sharing power and resources begins to ensure the success that needs to happen for all of our students, families and communities. ​